After starting the season by suffering a pair of three-game sweeps at the hands of dominant opponents, the Red found the win column at Fordham this weekend.
The team’s first win didn’t come easily — Cornell (1-8) dropped a 4-3 contest in 10 innings in game one before winning by the same score, again in 10 innings, in the series’ middle game.
Trailing 3-2, the Red sent game two to extras on a bases-loaded walk from freshman outfielder Jason Apostle. In the top of the 10th, senior outfielder Kyle Gallagher’s hot bat produced at the right time, scoring senior catcher/outfielder Ellis Bitar in what ended up being the game’s winning run.
Gallagher, one of few bright spots offensively in his team’s first two series, continued his early success at the plate, in games one and two, going a combined 3-for-5 with six walks. In game three, though, Gallagher went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
Sophomore Andrew Ellison earned the win for Cornell, coming out of the bullpen to throw 3.2 scoreless innings.
In game one, the roles were reversed, with Fordham earning the game’s winning run in the bottom of the tenth. The Red took a 3-2 lead on Apostle’s two-run homer in the fourth. However, after senior Tim Willittes set the Rams’ lineup down in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh, Fordham plated a run in the eighth to tie the score.
In the rubber match, Cornell took an early 2-0 lead thanks to Will Simoneit’s 2-run single in the first. But Fordham tied the game at three in the fifth. The Rams took a 4-3 lead in the seventh on a bizarre play on which the Red committed multiple errors, making three errors in the fifth inning alone.
In the eighth, Fordham extended its lead to two runs, earning a 5-3 victory and series win.
Cornell committed four errors in the series’ deciding game after making two in game one and three in game two.
After nine straight road games to start the year, Cornell hosts Niagara in its home opener next weekend. The Red will take on the Purple Eagles in doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at Hoy Field.